The swinging sixties was a breeding ground for new dance crazes--as many as 500 were created during this ten-year period. Most, but not all, tended to be associated with a particular song. The common dances from the 1960s veered away from the touch partner dancing that had been popular in prior decades and allowed--for the first time--the ability for people to dance without a partner.
One of the most popular, as well as one of the first, dance crazes of the sixties was The Twist. It debuted in 1960 on the Dick Clark Show. The simplicity of The Twist dance made it popular with all ages. According to the instructions that were included with the record: "Imagine you are stubbing out a cigarette with both feet whilst drying your back with a towel" Other dances soon followed, here is a list of a few of them.
The Freddie: This was a short-lived 1960s dance craze prompted by the release of the songs "I'm Telling You Now," and "Do the Freddie," both by the British band, Freddie and the Dreamers. "Do the Freddie" had been a #18 hit in the United States in 1965, and American dance craze stalwart Chubby Checker had then made it to #40 with the minor hit "Let's Do the Freddie" in that same year. However, the dance truly made it into the history books by being declared by Gomez Addams as his favorte dance on the show The Addams Family.
Hitch Hike: Hitch hike was a dance craze of 1960s. It started with the 1963 Marvin Gaye's hit "Hitch Hike" and refueled with the gold disc of Vanity Fare, "Hitchin' a Ride". The dance is extremely simple and is based on the hitchhiker's gesture: waving the stuck out thumb. The classical Motown pattern is three times right thumb to the right over the shoulder, clap hands, three times left thumb to the left over the shoulder, clap hands. All this is accompanied by the shimmy body ripples popular at these times.
Hully Gully : The Hully Gully is a type of unstructured line dance originating from the 60s which consisted of a series of "steps" that are called out by the MC. Each step was relatively simple and easy to do however the challenge was to keep up with the speed of each step. It was started by Frank Rocco at the Cadillac Hotel in Miami Beach Florida. The rock group, the Olympics, sang the song "Hully Gully", back in early 1960, which involved no physical contact at all. The same tune was used a year later as a song by the Marathons, entitled "Peanut Butter", which was later used for the Peter Pan Peanut Butter commercial during the 1980s.
The Mashed Potato: The mashed potato was danced to songs such as Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time." The dance begins by stepping backward with one foot with that heel tilted inward. The foot is positioned slightly behind the other (stationary) foot. With the weight on the ball of the starting foot, the heel is then swiveled outward. The same process is repeated with the other foot: step back and behind with heel inward, pivot heel out, and so on. The Monster Mash is essentially the same dance, done with creepy, ghoul-like arm movements and transitions.
The Monkey: Most popular in 1963, the dance was popularized by two R&B records: Major Lance's "The Monkey Time" and The Miracles' "Mickey's Monkey", both released during the summer of 1963. The monkey is often referenced on animated series Johnny Bravo (in every theme song in addition to many times in the actual show), although it may be a completely different dance. The tv series The Simpsons also referenced the dance at least twice
The Peppermint Twist: In 1961, at the height of the Twist craze, patrons at New York's hot Peppermint Lounge on West 45th Street were twisting to the music of the house band, a local group from Jersey, Joey Dee and the Starliters. Their house song, "Peppermint Twist (Part 1)," became the number one song in the United States for three weeks in January 1962. Sailors and hookers, hipsters and weekending Yalies danced alongside New York's social elite, including the Duke of Windsor, at the legendary Peppermint Lounge.
The Pony: Made popular in the 1960s by the Chubby Checker song "Pony Time," it is done with the feet comfortably together and various arm and hand motions can be done when Pony-ing, and movement on the dance floor can occur; however, there is no line-of-dance. Couples do not touch, and they are generally facing each other, but turns and chase positions are also possible.
The Watusi: The Watusi was a solo dance that enjoyed brief popularity during the early 1960s and was almost as popular as the Twist.
Below are some of the songs for these dances as well as some additional dance tunes. For your convenience, we have included links to the sheet music on Sheetmusicplus.com as well as the CD on Amazon.com whenever available. If you are looking to purchase the mp3 or would like to listen to a sample, then click on either the Rhapsody or iTunes links.
Rhapsody provides both music subscriptions as well as individual mp3s for sale in WMA format, while iTunes only provides MPEG-4 audio files for sale. For more information about where to purchase music online, we provide it on our Music Downloads page or our Music Subscriptions page.
These singles are considered among the best dance songs to hit the charts in the 1960s.
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Find some of the best songs of the 1960s by selecting one of the links below:
Click on any of the links below to find the:
